Thursday, August 30, 2012

Here it is, hot off the presses – or my desk since I am not a big media outlet.This poll is meant to be what it’s entitled, a “Power Poll”, which means it is how I view the teams as far as how good and talented they are – it is not a poll in the sense I am ranking teams how I feel they will finish at the end of the season.I have included my ranking, the preseason AP ranking, my pre-preseason ranking from a few weeks ago, and lastly each team’s projected record.I will no doubt update this entry after each and every week of action, so check back to see where your team stacks up, and please comment here or hit me up via email or Twitter (@sportsboss).

#1 Florida State Seminoles: #7/#1, 11-1

#2 Georgia Bulldogs: #6/#2, 10-2

#3 USC Trojans: #1/#3, 10-2

#4 Alabama Crimson Tide: #2/#5, 10-2

#5 Oklahoma Sooners: #4/#8, 10-2

#6 Oregon Ducks: #5/#6, 11-1

#7 LSU Tigers: #3/#4, 9-3

#8 Clemson Tigers: #14/#7, 9-3

#9 South Carolina Gamecocks: #9/#12, 9-3

#10 * Ohio State Buckeyes: #18/NR, 10-2

#11 West Virginia Mountaineers: #11/#11, 9-3

#12 Michigan Wolverines: #8/#10, 9-3

#13 Virginia Tech Hokies: #16/#15, 9-3

#14 Texas Longhorns: #15/#9, 8-4

#15 Michigan State Spartans: #13/#17, 9-3

#16 Kansas State Wildcats: #22/#13, 8-4

#17 Florida Gators: #23/#19, 7-5

#18 South Florida Bulls: #34/#21, 8-4

#19 Arkansas Razorbacks: #10/#14, 7-5

#20 Wisconsin Badgers: #12/#22, 7-5

#21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: #26/#16, 8-4

#22 Auburn Tigers: #28/NR, 7-5

#23 Utah Utes: #30/NR, 9-3

#24 Tennessee Volunteers: #33/#23, 7-5

#25 North Carolina Tar Heels: #29/NR, 8-4

*I left OSU off initial rankings list because I wasn’t sure if AP would rank them this season.It turns out they will be included, so I will also include them moving forward despite the fact they cannot play for a Big Ten title, or in a bowl game.

Next Five to keep eye on, in alphabetical order only

A)Louisville Cardinals: #25/#20

B)Missouri Tigers: #38/NR

C)Nebraska Cornhuskers: #17/NR

D)Texas A&M Aggies: #36/NR

E)Washington Huskies: #27/#24

Teams the AP has ranked that did not make my Top 25 Power Poll:

Nebraska #17

Oklahoma State #19

TCU #20

Stanford #21

Boise State #24

Louisville #25

Teams the AP does not have ranked that are in my Top 25 Power Poll:

South Florida #18

Notre Dame #21

Auburn #22

Utah #23

Tennessee #24

North Carolina #25

Top 5 biggest variances between my Top 25 Power Poll and AP:

Ohio State: #10 vs. #18 = +8 spots

South Florida: #18 vs. #34 = +16 spots

Arkansas: #19 vs. #10 = (10) spots

Utah: #23 vs. #30 = (7) spots

Tennessee: #24 vs. #33 = (9) spots

Projected Conference & Division Winners (team’s in parenthesis would be winner but are ineligible):

SEC: AlabamaEast: GeorgiaWest: Alabama

Big Ten: MichiganLegends: MichiganLeaders: Purdue (OSU)

Big 12: Oklahoma

Pac 12: USCNorth: OregonSouth: USC

ACC: FSUAtlantic: FSUCoastal: VT (UNC)

Big East: South Florida

CUSA: SMU (UCF)East: East CarolinaWest: SMU (UCF)

MAC: OhioEast: OhioWest: CMU

MWC: Nevada

Sun Belt: FIU

WAC: La Tech

Projected BCS Bowls

Championship Game:Florida State Seminoles vs. USC Trojans – I believe Georgia will be ranked in the top 2 at end of regular season since they have a favorable SEC schedule, but will lose to Alabama in the title game and thus fall out of consideration.Florida State will have the best record of any team by end of the season going 12-1 including an ACC Championship game win, and USC will avenge a regular season loss to Oregon, thus giving them the edge over Alabama for the second spot.

Rose Bowl:Oregon Ducks vs. Michigan Wolverines – Pac 12 runner up Oregon, who after winning at the Coliseum in early November, will lose the rematch in Autzen giving the Trojans a spot in the title game.Michigan will win the Big Ten title, and this will be an excellent matchup in Denard Robinson’s final game as a Wolverine.

Sugar Bowl:Alabama Crimson Tide vs. West Virginia Mountaineers – Alabama will wind up being SEC champion, but will have multiple losses including one as a medium to large favorite and thus will not be impressive enough to appear in the championship game again.West Virginia will be an at-large selection as the 2nd best Big 12 team.

Fiesta Bowl:Oklahoma Sooners vs. Clemson Tigers – Oklahoma will win the Big 12 regular season through tiebreakers being that the conference will not have a championship game this season.Clemson will be another at-large pick, the second ACC team, giving us an excellent matchup.

Orange Bowl:South Florida Bulls vs. Georgia Bulldogs – USF will win their first Big East championship, and get to play in their backyard in a BCS game.Georgia will be coming off a loss in the SEC title game that could have secured them a spot in the national championship game.The Orange Bowl will get first selection of at-large teams if they lose Florida State to the title game, which I expect, and hence will select SEC runner-up Georgia which should help the bowl at least sell a lot of tickets with both teams being in close proximity to the venue.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Here is a current list of every injury/suspension/transfer
at every FBS school since the end of last season.These updates should be used in conjunction
with any preseason magazines or websites you reference to finalize your
thoughts on each team because there are a number of significant changes to
starters and depth charts listed below.This information will impact your team power ratings, the returning
starters magazines/websites list, and will help you get a leg up on Vegas when
deciding on your picks or fantasy selections.They are listed in alphabetical order by team.

I appreciate any fans or alums of any schools that have
information either not mentioned below, or an update/correction to something I
wrote.Looking over 124 teams is very
tough as you can see, I have 23 pages of information below, and it’s impossible
for me to be spot on with every move or every issue that has come up, and every
player I am projecting will step into a vacated spot – so please remember that
when reading, and definitely reach out to me with any changes – this took me
about 30 hours to complete and I work fast and efficient, so please take the 5
minutes out of your day if you read this and it added value to your process to
send me an email with any updates.It’s
always appreciated.

And let’s be honest here – is there another handicapper in
the country that has done this much work?Keep in mind too, this is only a piece of what I have done – I have been
working since April for this coming season, and everything is in place for a
killer year – as you can see by all the information below, there is no stone
left unturned – so stop by www.thesportsboss.com
or email me boss@thesportsboss.com
and grab a package for the 2012 season!

1.OHIO has only suffered one injury
loss to a starter in camp thus far, but it is a big one.Starting CB Sr Carrie, who was 2ND
Team All MAC LY, has been sidelined with a shoulder injury and his status
remains unknown, especially for the early portion of the season.Currently, HC Solich is using a combination
of 5 players to fill-in, while hoping one of them steps up enough to take over
this role on their own.Considering
their only secondary loss from LY was CB Leftwich, this position now seems like
it has a lot of uncertainty surrounding it, in what many believed could be the
best secondary in the MAC.

2.OHIO backup PK Yazdani is out
for the season with a knee injury.

3.OHIO 3RD string WR So
N’goumou has retired from playing football.His loss is not significant at all since he was injured and out for the
season LY.

4.OHIO STATE starting RB Hall
suffered a foot surgery over the summer and will miss at least the first two
games of the season, possibly more considering CAL & UAB are games 3&4
in the Shoe.The Buckeyes already lost
RB Boom Herron from LY, so that leaves Jr Carlos Hyde to step in for Hall, which
will not be a big drop off in talent or production especially considering the
schedule.

5.OHIO STATE released starting MLB
Klein earlier this summer following violations of team rules, but then
reinstated him last week.He will at
least miss two games, possibly more but figures to at worst be back by the B10
schedule.Look for top rated recruit, So
Curtis Grant, to take over in his absence.

6.OHIO STATE starting DE Sr
Williams is still working his way back from microfracture surgery that forced
him to miss all of LY, and his status remains questionable for Wk1.Also at DE incumbent starter Jr Bellamy has
left the team for personal reasons – he was slated to either start if Williams
could not, or be the first DE off the bench and a key part of the rotation.With these two injuries there is no doubt
from a talent and experience standpoint OSU takes a hit.While there are highly rated players waiting
to slide up the depth chart, these two losses will be felt for certain
especially if Williams is not able to come back, or at least get close to
100%.Keep an eye on Williams’ status
updates as September rolls around.

7.OHIO STATE has also lost a trio
of 3rd team players I will just list here, as they were expected to
have minimal, if any, impact this season but did provide depth, which could
become an issue with the scholarship losses they will suffer from shortly: So
Boubek, a C, has transferred to Minnesota after falling down to #3 on the depth
chart; Fr O’Connor, a RT, injured his left knee recently and will sit out the
season as a RS; RFr NT Hayes has transferred to Michigan State.

8.OKLAHOMA has been hit very hard
with injuries and suspensions so far prior to the season, especially on
offense.Here are all the issues
offensively:

1.They
have lost a pair of Sr starting OL for the season.C Habern has been forced to retire from the
game due to lingering neck and shoulder issues.RG Evans tore his ACL in camp and will miss the entire season.Evans was HM AB12 LY, and combined with the
loss of Habern makes the OU OL that I had ranked as Top 5 in NCAAF
significantly worse.That leaves the OL
with only 2 returning starters from LY (also lost LT Stephenson), and their career
games started drops from 102 to ~43!Their replacements have yet to be named, but rest assured they will be a
significant drop-off – maybe not so much talent wise as it is Oklahoma, and
they recruit talented players across the board – but losing ~60 career starts plus
Stephenson is a big hit to the chances OU finally makes it back to the BCS
Championship game.As a footnote to the
OL, the Sooners also lost 3RD string LT RFr Dismuke due to a knee
injury which has forced him to transfer.By itself that is not a huge loss, but depth wise, when considering all
the OL is currently going through, it is a loss that must be mentioned.

2.A
pair of WRs will also miss time.Starter
Jr Jaz Reynolds will miss multiple games due to a suspension, while the #1
backup Jr Trey Franks is also suspended for multiple games.It has not been announced how many games or
which games these players will miss, but it will definitely be a big hit to
their passing game when they are out.Considering they open @ UTEP then host Florida A&M before a bye week
followed by their B12 opener vs. Kansas State, I expect both players to be in
the lineup vs. KST, possibly for the first time all season.As a footnote to the WR corps, Fresno St
transfer Jalen Saunders still has not been given the OK by the NCAA to
participate in games this season.Saunders is attempting to get the mandatory 1 year sit out period waived
due to personal issues, so keep an eye on this.In addition, WR Jackson has been dismissed from the team following off
the field issues.He caught 12 passes LY
and was expected to see a slight increase in PT this season.While neither of those guys was expected to
make a huge splash in a deep and talented WR corps, they would certainly
provide depth.

9.Defensively
OKLAHOMA has two issues of
note.Backup Sr DT McGee has been
suspended, just like the WRs mentioned above, and his status is unknown but he
will be in the lineup after at worst missing a few games.He is projected as the #3 DT in the rotation
for 2 spots.Backup So SS Hayes has also
been suspended like McGee.He is the
only backup S that has extensive experience, which will leave the secondary a
little thin to start the season.

10.OKLAHOMA STATE has dismissed
starting Sr LT Bowie for violation of team rules.Considering the State OL already lost 3
starters from LY, this is a big blow as he was to be the anchor of the unit –
allowing ZERO sacks and limited QBHs LY – protecting the blindside of Fr QB Lunt.We will either see Jr RT Graham slide into
the vacated LT spot, or backup T So Koenig take over at LT.It has not been announced yet who is
officially taking over, but this is a big blow to an already shaky unit, especially
considering they are a pass happy team and are breaking in a brand new Fr QB.

11.3rd
string DT Mustafa has left the OKLAHOMA
STATE team for personal reasons.He did not appear in any games LY, and as a RFr was considered to
potentially be a part of the DT rotation.Not a huge loss here for 2012.

12.OREGON backup WR Sr Hoffman has
retired from football and will join the coaching staff for this season.This is not a huge blow for a deep and
talented WR corps as he was slated on the 3rd team.

13.OREGON STATE has the biggest
losses in terms of #s in the entire FBS.They have lost 16 players for the season since the end of LY.There is a huge cause for concern for anyone
who supports Oregon State as Mike Riley’s job appears on the line, and they
have lost so much depth it will be a big time struggle to secure a bowl bid in
an improving Pac 12.Here is a look at
each one of them:

1.Offensively,
the Beavers have lost a pair of starters for the year.Sr WR Bishop has retired from football due to
recurring ankle injuries – he was slotted to be one of 3 starters this year
coming off a 31/384 season which had him #3 on the team.Jr Cummings will likely step into his role,
who only has 10 receptions in his career.Also, JUCO transfer LG Hasiak has issues with his transcript and will
miss the entire season.He was to step
right in and be a starter on a line that returned 3 starters and 50 career
starts from LY.The big issue with this
loss is not so much its Hasiak, but State also lost their top 2 backup G’s in
So Beaton and RFr Vieru.They have now
lost 3 G’s including 1 starter from that rotation, and it will certainly be an
area of concern and require additional follow-up to see how the depth chart
shakes out.Also along the OL they have
lost a pair of T’s in backup LT RFr Jackson and 2nd string T
Weinreich.In total, of the 10 OL that
were part of the original 2 deep, 4 of them are out for the season – and they
also lost 3 starters from LY, though do add Phillips who was a starter in 2010.The OL originally appeared to be the strength
of the offense, but now is full of question marks as the season draws closer –
the more help they can provide their 1st team All American Sophomore
QB, the better he will play.

2.Providing
depth offensively as part of the backup units OSU has lost multiple players.3rd string QB Lomax has
transferred in search of more PT – but this move should not have a great impact
on the Beavers as their #1 and #2 are both experienced signal callers.3 backup WRs were lost in 2nd
string RFr Trosin, 3rd string Sr Munoz, and deep backup RFr
Ferrell.None of those three were
expected to have a big role in this year’s offense, but losing 3 bodies from
the depth chart is never a good thing, especially considering one starter was
also lost.

3.Backup
PK Mikkelsen has left for a 2yr mission and will likely return to the team for
the 2014 season.So Trevor Romaine
remains the starter, and Fr Owens is now in the mix as well.

4.Defensively
the Beavers only have one issue with a starter.SS Watkins, who led the team with 85 tackles in 11 games LY as a Jr,
missed the spring and has still not taken the field in camp as of yet.He is questionable to start the season.So Zimmerman has taken over that role, but
has limited experience and would be a significant drop-off from possibly the
defense’s best player.

5.There
are 3 players suspended for the opener, all on defense:3rd string DE Barnett, deep on the
depth chart DE Gonzales, and backup CB Martin.Of the trio Martin is the only one expected to make a significant
contribution this season as the Jr is working his way back from an injury that
cost him the last 9 games of 2011.

6.There
are also 5 defensive players that were listed as part of the original backup
unit who are out for the year.Backup DT
So Tuivailala has left the program for personal reasons, but his loss will not
be of great impact as there are other experienced backup DTs to step up; 2nd
string LBs RFr Storey, Jr JUCO transfer Cowdin and 3RD stringer Jr
Sanders have all left the program seeking more PT – those losses are huge for the
LB corps as that only leaves 2 backup LBs on the entire roster with experience
– this situation warrants close attention, especially as the season wears on
and depth becomes more of a critical factor; lastly, backup CB Parker, a Sr who
has played in 10 games over the last 2 seasons, has decided to bring his
talents to the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL – outside Sean Martin, mentioned
above, the Beavers have no other experienced backup CBs.

14.We
all know PENN STATE has lost
a lot of players to transfer following the NCAA sanctions.Here are the key ones whom they lost, where
they went, and who are likely to have an impact for their new team: RB Redd to USC, he will combine with McNeal to
form one of the better 1-2 punches in the country; LC Fortt who was unlikely to
crack the lineup at PSU since they are stacked with one of best LB corps in the
country moves on to CAL where he
will at least be a part of the rotation, possibly picking up a starting gig
especially following the injury to one of the Golden Bears projected starting
OLBs Whiteside; QB Bolden moves on (finally) to LSU, where he will likely be the #2 behind starter Zach
Mettenberger; PK/P Fera goes to TEXAS
where he will likely be the starter at PK, and possibly at P – he is above
average in both areas, but is listed as out for the opener with a groin injury
that definitely requires weekly monitoring; WR Brown, likely to be PSU’s #1
this year transferred to OKLAHOMA
where he will definitely get some playing time as part of the rotation.

15.On
top of all the transfers listed above, PENN
STATE has also lost 3 additional guys due to a variety of non-football
issues.Starting WR Smith, the Sr who
had 402 yards LY, is gone and will be replaced by a variety of guys who will be
a small drop-off from what Smith brought to the table.Starting CB Jr Drake is also off the team
along with #1 backup CB Thomas.Those
two issues dwindle down the talent at CB, a spot that already lost both of LY’s
starters due to graduation in May.All 4
starters were being replaced in the secondary, and with the loss of these two
players it makes it that much tougher to be talented enough on the back end to
have a consistent pass defense.Huge
area of concern for the Nittany Lions.

16.Stud
PITTSBURGH RB Ray Graham
still is not 100% following an ACL injury LY and is listed as questionable for
their opener vs. Youngstown State on 9/1.Graham has returned to practice which is a good sign, and Pitt may just
be extra careful with him in the opener with @ Cincinnati coming up in Wk2 off
a short week in what could turn out to be a critical conference clash (Thursday
night game).

17.2
of PITTSBURGHS 3 starting WRs
are listed as questionable for the opener.Street (knee) and Shanahan (hamstring).I wouldn’t be shocked if neither played in the opener, but there is
practically zero production amongst all the backups as one played defense LY,
one sat out due to a transfer, and 2 others were primarily kick returners since
stepping foot on campus.

18.PITTSBURGH has lost a pair of keys
to their passing game for the entire season.Backup QB Myers has moved on in search of more playing time, which will
leave the backup duties to a duo that has zero experience (Myers only had 4
career attempts himself to be fair).But
the bigger loss is LT Hollins – the Jr started 7 games LY, 6 at LT, played in
12, and was scheduled to protect Sunseri’s blind side.His replacement is a big area of concern as none
of the current backup T’s has any experience.This will be an area to watch very closely.

19.PURDUE RB Bolden is still
recovering from an ACL he tore LY, and will definitely miss the opener.He is a legit 1,000 yard All Big Ten type
back if 100%, but with 3 ACL tears since arriving in West Lafayette, it appears
most of the ground game will fall on the shoulders of Shavers who has a history
of his own injury wise, but rushed for 519/4.7 LY including missing a lot of
time.Purdue has a chance to be a
sleeper Big Ten team in ’12, but they need to find consistency in the running
game to provide the balance needed to potentially sneak up on the conference.

20.RICE 3rd string WR So
Hull is out for the season after tearing his pectoral muscle.He had 181 yards LY, but will not be a big
loss especially considering the Owls have moved former Michigan RB McGuffie to
WR this season in an attempt to keep him on the field and get him into open
space more often.

21.RUTGERS will go with Gary Nova
at QB over Chas Dodd.Both played LY,
Dodd is generally viewed as having the higher ceiling, but Nova is a better
game manager which the new coaching staff wants.

22.RUTGERS starting SS So Waters is
listed as questionable for Wk1 with an undisclosed injury.He played in 11 games LY, but there is
experience behind him such as Sr Warren.

23.RUTGERS starting WR Sr Wright is
listed as questionable for Wk1 with a dislocated finger.He appeared in 12 games LY but did limited
damage on the field; look for Jr Pratt to step into his open spot if he is
unable to go and produce about the same.

24.RUTGERS 3rd string TE
Jr Bush has transferred.He was expected
to have limited opportunities this season, hence the transfer in search of more
playing time.

25.SAN DIEGO STATE has named Oregon
State transfer Ryan Katz it’s starting QB.He will be backed up by So Dingwell.

26.SAN DIEGO STATE backup DT
Galea’i is listed as doubtful for the opener as he recovers from a broken
foot.That could be a big loss as the
players behind him on the depth chart do not have much size for the 3-4 DT
position.The rotation without him may
be weak, especially with a So starting that only made 4 tackles LY.

27.SMU starting CB Richardson has
been lost for the season due to a torn ACL.He had climbed all the way to a starting role in the secondary after
being projected a 3rd teamer when spring camp commenced.There is similar talent on the roster to replace
his production, so this loss should not be huge.

28.SOUTH CAROLINA RB Lattimore
looks very good little lingering issues from his ACL last season.I think he will be fine and have a monster
season.

29.At
SOUTH CAROLINA RB continues
to be an area surrounded by question marks.Lattimore has looked fine in camp with only a little lingering issues
showing up from his torn ACL, but keep in mind he is still coming back from a
serious knee injury that was suffered less than a year ago.In addition, RB Wilds, LY’s #2 rusher among
RBs, is listed as doubtful for their opener at VANDERBILT with an ankle
injury.What’s still more, 4th
string RB Carson is out with a wrist injury that recently required
surgery.Lastly, as far as RBs go, two
incoming Fr will also not be available this year.That leaves SCAR with a non 100% Lattimore,
and Sr Kenny Miles for the tough road opener at conference foe and possibly
sleeper Vandy.This position is definitely
something to keep an eye on as the Gamecocks rely on their rushing attack
offensively – they finished #95th in the country in passing yards,
and lost their better passing QB Garcia, along with NFL draft pick Alshon
Jeffery.

30.SOUTH CAROLINA lost CB Auguste,
a projected starter, for at least 4-5 weeks, probably longer.Big loss as that comes on the heels of losing
3 CBs who started at least 6 games LY, including NFL draftee Gilmore.LY SC had the #2 passing defense in the
entire country – this year, CB appears to be somewhat of a concern, at least
early in the season.

31.SOUTH CAROLINA 4th
string QB McEvoy has transferred in search of more playing time.The loss is not significant obviously.

32.SOUTH CAROLINA backup SPUR
Golightly, who appeared in 12 games LY, has been suspended for the first three
games this year.The Gamecocks would
like to get him back on the field as soon as possible so he can soak in all he
can from starting Sr Holloman.In the
meantime, the backup role will be taken over by RFr Roberts, which is a big
time drop-off, especially if anything was to happen to Holloman.

33.SOUTH FLORIDA 3rd
string FS Boyd has transferred, which does not have much of an impact on their
secondary.

34.SOUTHERN MISS backup DE Thomas
will miss the entire season due to academics.He is the most experienced of the Golden Eagle DE’s, having appeared in
23 games over the last 2 years.His loss
will have an impact on their DL, especially generating pocket pressure.

35.SOUTHERN MISS backup QB Favor is
still trying to recover from knee surgery.He was expected to challenge for the starting QB role, but will now possibly
take a RS and get healthy to challenge for next year’s starting gig.None of the SM backups have experience, so
from that perspective, this isn’t that big a loss.But it only leaves 2 backups on the active
roster, 1 of which is a true Fr – on a team that has a new coaching staff, and
lost one of their better all time QBs.

36.STANFORD backup RB Gaffney has
decided to pursue a baseball career. This is a big loss for the Cardinal from a
depth perspective – Sr Taylor returns and is a stud, no doubt one of the best
RBs in the entire country. But if he was
to get injured, there now isn’t that one highly talented player behind
him.It will be RBC as a backup to
Taylor now, and with the loss of top draft pick QB Luck, Stanford must keep its
fingers and toes cross Taylor stays healthy, or they will struggle mightily
offensively.

37.SYRACUSE starting WR Foster is
out Wk1 with a lower body injury.This
injury will not be of great impact to the Orange as they have many
interchangeable pieces in their WR corps.

38.SYRACUSE will be without
starting LT Pugh in at least their opener vs. Northwestern with a shoulder
injury.Pugh is being touted as the best
OL to ever wear the Orange, so obviously his loss will be significant for Cuse.They have not yet announced who will slide
into his spot, but whoever it is will be a big time drop-off as there isn’t
much outside depth to the Orange OL.At
least Syracuse returns QB Nassib, who is entering his 3rd and final
year as starter.

39.SYRACUSE starting Sr WR Lemon is
listed as questionable for Wk1 with a leg injury.He figures to be one of the leaders of the WR
corps coming off a 2nd Team All Big East season in 2011.Syracuse really lacks depth on the outside, which
takes another hit with Jr Fleming being listed as questionable for Wk1 with an
ankle injury.If either or both of these
guys cannot go, combined with the LT issues, Syracuse could have trouble moving
the ball via the air in their home opener vs. Northwestern, although the
Wildcats lose 3 of 4 starters from a secondary that ranked #71 in the country
LY.

40.SYRACUSE starting DT Bromley is
listed as questionable for the opener with a sprained foot.He has been seen around campus wearing an
air-cast, which really puts his status in doubt for a game some 10 days
away.The Orange do have some depth on
the interior of their DL, so while his loss would hurt from a rotational
perspective, it appears talent wise there are more than enough bodies to throw
in there and produce at a similar level.

41.TENNESSEE starting Jr WR Da’Rick
Rogers is likely to miss the entire season due to issues with team policy and
the coaching staff.LY he posted the 5th
best #’s ever for a WR @ Tennessee, leading to 1ST team All
SEC.No matter who steps in the loss of
Rogers is immense for the Vols, who many (including myself) fancied as a
sleeper SEC East team this season.WR
Hunter and TE Rivera still form a solid pass catching duo, but the passing game
takes a big hit with this loss.

42.TENNESSEE backup TE Clear has
been dismissed from the team and will transfer.He played in 12 games LY as a true Fr, and will be supplanted on the
depth chart by either So Summers or So Plumlee.Both of those So’s are a drop off in talent from Clear, and if starting
TE Rivera – one of the best in the SEC – happens to miss a significant amount
of time, the production will noticeably drop off.

43.TENNESSEE backup CB Lanier is
out for the season due to academics.Although he was the incumbent starter at one CB position after starting
9 LY, he was overtaken by Sr Waggner and So Coleman and was resigned to being
the top backup off the bench, and NB.He
played well LY, but there is a lot of depth for the Vols at CB and overall in
the secondary, so while you don’t lose a player of his talent and experience
and get better, there is more than enough to cover up his loss.

44.Although
it initially was announced TEXAS
would start QB Ash and he would be their QB this season with no worries of
being yanked mid-game for poor performance, it has now been announced that once
again he will rotate with McCoy – at least initially – when they open the
season against Wyoming.

45.TEXAS top backup WR Miles
Onyegbule could miss the beginning of the season with a chest injury.Although the Horns are set with their 3
starters, Onyegbule will have a significant role in the passing game this fall.

46.TEXAS A&M has lost backup TE
Prioleau, who decided to leave the program due to personal reasons.The Aggies have 3 solid TE’s who, for the
most part, are interchangeable, so while this loss affects the #’s at the
position, the production shouldn’t fall, and the two deep remains at the same
level w/o Prioleau.

47.TEXAS STATE starting SLB RFr
Robinson is listed as questionable for Wk1 with an ankle injury.Jr David Mayo is expected to reprise his role
if he is unable to go @ Houston in their opener.I must admit I am not overly familiar with
the 2 deep @ Texas State, but from what I read, it doesn’t seem this will be a
huge drop off – and if anything, it at least adds some experience putting a Jr
in there for a RFr.

48.TEXAS TECH explosive starting Sr
RB Stephens is listed as questionable for the start of the season with a knee
injury.He is the Tech ground game, so
if he was to miss any significant time, the pressure will really be on the
unproven backups, and Sr QB Doege to move the ball and score the points needed
to succeed in the high powered B12.

49.TEXAS TECH Sr FL Moore is listed
as questionable for Wk1 due to personal reasons.It sounds like he is likely to play; but
nevertheless, it warrants note and following leading up to game time.He is certainly one of the better if not the
best TT WR this season.

50.TEXAS TECH has suffered numerous
losses on their OL heading into 2012.In
particular, the G position is an absolute mess.With the injuries listed below the line falls to only 1 returning starter
Sr C Gallington, and about 50 returning career starts.Here are the issues:

1.Starting
RG McDaniel (Sr) is out indefinitely due to lingering concussion symptoms.Starting LG Carpenter (So) is also out
indefinitely due to the same problem, too many concussions.As if that wasn’t enough of an issue at G,
top backup Sr Thomas has decided to transfer.There are only 3 remaining G’s listed on the depth chart, and they have
a combined 4 starts between them.This is
a massive issue for the Red Raiders this season.The status of McDaniel and Carpenter need to
be monitored on a weekly basis as until they come back, the front wall will be
extremely leaky, especially on the interior.

2.Backup
RT Wilson has a torn ACL and is out for the year.Since he was just a RFr the drop off in
experience is null to the next backup, Fr Keenan, but the size and talent drop
off is measurable.

51.TEXAS TECH 3RD string
FS Johnson has decided to take his talents to Southern Miss.His loss will be minimal.

52.TOLEDO starting RB Fluellen is
listed as questionable for Wk1 with a foot injury.He hasn’t practiced recently, but the Rockets
are hoping their leading returning rusher can get back to practice soon in time
for their opener at Arizona.

53.TROY top backup WR Johnson was
booted from the team because of poor grades.The Trojans start 4 WRs, and he was their top guy off the bench so it is
a relatively significant loss since the team relies so much on WR production to
move the ball and score points.However,
on a positive note, he did not play at all LY as he went the JUCO route to work
on his grades ironically enough, and in 2010 he only had 258 yards
receiving.The team will fill in for his
absence without missing a beat, but the lost body could be of concern at some
point during the season.

54.TULANE starting RB Darkwa has
been upgraded to probable for Wk1 vs. Rutgers.He is coming off back to back 1st Team CUSA years.His backup Dante Butler is also listed on
injury report as probable with a hamstring issue.

55.TULANE suffered a HUGE blow to
their defense when preseason CUSA DPOY Sr MLB Mackey was suspended indefinitely
after being arrested for an armed robbery plot.His return is absolutely critical to the Green Wave, who yielded 37.5
ppg LY – which was an improvement over recent seasons!Looking at who will replace him is a useless
exercise as he is that much better than anyone else Tulane could possibly put
on the field to replace him.

56.TULANE starting DE Pierce has
been ruled ineligible because of poor grades.He played in all 13 games LY, and made the CUSA Freshmen Team.There is little DE depth, but it looks like
Jr Bechwith will slide into the starting role as he is the only backup DE with
any playing experience for the Green Wave.

57.TULANE starting Sr C Morgan will
miss the entire season due to a shoulder injury.He was one of 3 new starters on the Tulane
OL.Keep an eye on Jr Henry, who may be
his replacement and would not be that great a drop in production as he is
experienced after serving as a backup interior linemen the L2Y’s.

58.UCLA starting RG Baca is
questionable for Wk1 @ Rice with a concussion.The Sr figures to be one of the leaders of a solid OL this year in
Westwood, but there are experienced backups the Bruins can lean such as Jr Ward
and Jr Cid.There will not be a
significant drop in production with either of those two, but there will be some
leadership loss w/o Baca.

59.Defensively,
UCLA has a lot more
concerns.It all starts with team
captain, defensive MVP, and possibly best player on the team Sr MLB Patrick
Larimore, who has given up football due to repeated concussions.Obviously that is a killer loss for the
Bruins defense.SS Riley, a likely starter,
is also out for the season with neck issues.Sr Andrew Abbott is likely to take his spot and fill in at a level
similar to Riley, so not a big loss there but it hurts depth, especially when
combined with the loss of a deep depth chart guy, SS Mascarenas.In addition, a pair of backup DEs has been
lost for the season in Tai and Tepa, while another, very highly regarded true
Fr McCarthy, is listed as questionable for Wk1 with a knee injury.Those losses come to a deeper position on the
UCLA defense, but losing 2 bodies for the season and another for the early part
of the year really will test the depth of the unit.

60.UCONN QB Cochran, a true Fr,
broke his wrist and is out indefinitely.He was unlikely to get the starting gig as that seems to be incumbent
Johnny McEntee, and/or possibly transfer Chandler Whitmer.

61.UMASS starting QB Pagel is
suffering from post concussion syndrome and his status is out for the early
part of the season, and unknown moving forward.Although he was the projected starter there isn’t much difference
between him and his competition, so the drop-off in production should not be
significant.

62.UNLV has lost a pair of backup
WRs who are no longer with the team.Jr
Davis and RFr Thompson provided some depth as they were both listed as 2s on
the depth chart, so those losses will no question impact the depth and rotation
at WR.On top of those 2 losses, the
unit already lost the top 4 receivers from LY, so the corps is a massive
question mark going into 2012.

63.UNLV has also lost a pair of
backup OL that were listed as 2s on the depth chart.RFr RG White & Sr Carroll are both no
longer with the team.This area is
actually one of the strongest units on the Rebels team, and the loss of these
guys will not have a profound impact on the team considering neither has played
a down for UNLV in their career.

64.UNLV has lost two starters on
defense.Jr DT Holloway & Jr CB
Spigner have both left the team for unknown reasons.Look for Jr Korman to fill in for Holloway –
while he will be giving away nearly 100lbs, the talent and experience
difference will be marginal; the replacement CB is a little dodgier as there
isn’t much experience in the backups, and Spigner played in 11 games LY.Figure the CB loss to weigh more on the team.

65.USC has lost a pair of DL for
basically the season, a position they could ill afford to lose both a starter
and a Fr who was expected to provide quality depth.Starting DE Kennard tore his pectoral muscle
and is listed out until at least November.The Sr has been playing a ton since coming to LA, and his absence will
be huge since there is limited experience behind him.In addition, the Trojans also lost Fr Wilson,
who was expected to provide quality depth and be a nice part of the rotation.

66.UTAH backup RT Sai has left the
program and gone to Hawaii to play for his former OC Chow, now the HC at
Hawaii.He was either 2nd or
3rd string, and is not considered a key piece of the OL puzzle.

67.UTAH backup RB So Langi has gone
on his 2yr mission and will now miss the next 2 seasons.Langi was a decently rated recruit out of HS
but contributed minimally in his Fr campaign.He was slotted as the 3rd string RB behind starter Sr White
and Jr York.There will not be much of
an impact this season because of his decision, but next year there could be
depth concerns.

68.UTAH STATE starting WR Jordan
Jenkins is listed as questionable for the Aggies opener vs. Southern Utah with
a shoulder injury.He is a JUCO transfer
that was expected to start his first game with the team; there is experienced
depth behind him in case he cannot go led by Jr Travis Reynolds.

69.UTAH STATE has a pair of 2nd
string OL that are likely out for the season.So Walker, a RG, broke his leg and is out indefinitely.Likely to step up to the 2nd team
is Joe Summers, a JUCO transfer who played in 10 games LY at that level.In addition to Walker, LG Vavau, another JUCO
transfer, is having issues with his transcript and it appears more and more
likely he will miss at least the beginning of the season, and quite possibly
the entire year.Behind him is Jr
Whimpey, who transferred into USU from Idaho St.Since neither of the injured players are
starters, their impact will be limited as it doesn’t appear there is a massive
drop off from the 2s to the 3s in this case.What’s more, Utah State has either the best or the 2nd best
OL in the WAC, so as long as the starters stay healthy, this will definitely
not be even a small issue.

70.UTSA backup ROVER Adekeye has
been dismissed from the team and will be replaced by PENN ST transfer Sean
Luchnick.It doesn’t seem like that
injury will have much of an impact at all.

71.UTSA starting LT Phillips has
left the program after starting 10 games LY.There is no depth behind him whatsoever as all the backup T’s have no
experience at this level, so his loss will definitely be felt, especially as a
LT.On the plus side for UTSA, he only
weighed 265lbs, and many of the backups that could potentially step in weigh
closer to 300.Phillips is the only
starter from LY’s UTSA offense that is not back starting this season.

72.UTSA backup TE Morgan, who
played in 10 games as a Fr LY and had 215 yards, suffered a leg injury and is
out for the season.He had better #’s
than the starting TE, which is odd in itself, so it appears this loss will also
impact the UTSA passing game for certain.

73.WASHINGTON WR corps has a couple
injuries of note.Two of the three
listed starters will not be ready for opening day.WR Smith is still recovering from an ACL tear
LY, and has not participated in contact drills yet.WR Johnson, the veteran leader of the group,
broke his wrist in camp and is out 4-6 weeks.They still have one of the most talented WRs in the Pac Ten sans USC in
Williams, but the talent level drops severely after him.On a good note, TE Sefarian-Jenkins is ready
to go and could see more work due to these injuries – he is one of best TEs in
the country.And on the plus side,
Washington had 7 players LY with 200+ yards receiving, and only lost two of
them (3 with Johnson) so there remains ample depth in the corps.

74.WASHINGTON has four injuries to
their LB corps, impacting the 2s and 3s but no starters.A pair of backup ILBs are out at least 4-6
weeks: Sr Fellner broke his foot recently and will miss at least 4 weeks – he
has switched positions for this season from S to ILB, and has a lot of experience
with the Huskies including 20 starts and 130 tackles.His loss obviously impacts the LB rotation
pretty significantly.Also at ILB Jr
Gilliland has retired from football – he has significantly less experience than
Fellner, but was still listed as a backup and his loss will be missed
modestly.At OLB, So Kearse, who is
listed as a 3rd stringer, had surgery on his shin and will be out
4-6 weeks; while 4th string RFr Lyons has decided to transfer and
his loss will not be of great impact at all.The Huskies do return 5 of their top 6 LBs from LY, so there is obvious
depth at this position, however, the loss of Fellner specifically, and to a
lesser extent Gilliland will impact the position early in the OOC portion of
their schedule.

75.WASHINGTON has 2 additional
starters and one additional 2nd teamer listed as questionable for
their opener hosting San Diego State on September 1st.Starting RG Kohler dislocated his knee the
first day of camp and his status is unknown, although HC Sarkisian believes he
will be in the opening day lineup.The
Jr started 13 games LY, and if he is unable to go, there is little to no
experience amongst the interior backup OL.Defensively, starting DE Jamora tore his ACL in game four LY and is
still attempting to come back.Although
he is listed as questionable, I have another source who advised me he will be
out at least 3 weeks.In his place if he
cannot go will be Sr Crichton, who has started 13 games in his Washington
career so can bring ample experience, albeit a drop off in talent to the
starting lineup.Also along the DL,
backup DT Tokolahi, the incumbent starter from LY who was passed on the depth
chart in camp by Shelton, is listed as questionable with a foot injury.He is the only experienced backup among the
interior DL, so his loss will have an impact if he is unable to go.

76.WASHINGTON 3RD string
RB Cooper has torn his ACL for the third time and will miss the season, and his
career could be over.The RB corps
suffered a huge loss from LY with Polk moving on, so although Cooper was only 3rd
string, the position is very much open to competition and his injury will
impact the depth.

77.WASHINGTON STATE has a pair of
injuries at their NT position.Starter
Laurenzi, the Sr, was dismissed from the team earlier this summer due to an off
the field incident.He had started 21
games during his career and was considered the anchor on a very thin DL, which
is now especially thin at the all important NT position in their 3-4.Also impacting the same position is 3rd
string RFr Barber, who has a leg injury and was unable to practice this
week.His status for the opener is
unknown, but it’s safe to say even though he had no experience, he did have
nice size and was definitely going to be a part of the rotation even before
Laurenzi went down.These injuries will
have a big impact on the WSU defense in 2012, and additional follow-up on the
status of the position and who takes over is necessary week to week.

78.WISCONSIN will start QB O’Brien,
their transfer from Maryland this season.In addition to that announcement at QB, the Badgers have suffered 3
season ending injuries/transfers to backups.#2 Brennan has decided to leave the program in search of more playing
time following the staff anointing O’Brien the starter.3rd string Jr Budmayr has hip
issues and will miss the entire season.Also, incoming Fr Houston had shoulder surgery and will RS the 2012
season.That leaves the Badgers with 3
QBs – O’Brien the starter, and backups RFr Stave and Jr Phillips.It will be a massive issue if O’Brien gets
injured this season.

79.WISCONSIN depth providing backup
So WR Willis has decided to leave the team.His absence will not have a great impact on the WR corps as a whole this
season.

80.WISCONSIN has lost a pair of
backup defensive players for the season due to injury.Jr DT Kohout has retired from football as an
MRI revealed he has had a few minor strokes in his life – he had 40+ tackles in
his career at Wisconsin as a backup.Backup SS Singleton, a Fr, has not been cleared academically and will
miss the entire season.He was one of
the top recruits of the 2012 class for the Badgers, and his loss will lead to a
medium talent drop-off to the next player ready to step in, but nothing
significant, and he remains a key piece of the Badger secondary going forward.

81.WYOMING starting DE Durbin has
transferred to Iowa St for his Sr season.This is not a huge loss for the Cowboys as this transfer comes at a
unit, the DL, which returns 7 of their top 9 from LY.Expect Jr Puletasi to step into the vacated
role, with not too much of a drop in production.

82.WYOMING top backup WR Stratton
will miss the entire season due to an undisclosed injury.The So played some QB LY, and was to be the
top backup WR for the Cowboys that start three.His loss, although he didn’t play WR LY, will have an impact as there
are no other backup Wyoming WR’s who have any experience playing offense at
this level.

There is the last part, all 124 teams have been covered in one of three posts. Please, check your team out and comment on any updates I have incorrect, or am missing.

The SportsBoss is a handicapping "broker" that offers NFL, NBA, NCAA football, NCAA basketball, NHL and MLB picks. The Sports Boss leverages his background which includes both a BS and MBA in Finance to build robust, analytical models which aid in predicting outcomes of games in every sport.